


The Chosen One (or: Dumbledore's guide to dealing with exes)

by Juliette_heronstairs_apples



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: A bit of Drarry if you squint, And everyone's kind of mean to Neville :/, Attempt at Humor, Basically ship whoever you want with Harry, Could also possibly be read as Harry/Hermione, Dumbledore is a useless gay and you know it, Everyone's really ooc, Gryffindor Quidditch Team!!, Gryffindor/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Remus is still Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-10-13 10:04:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20580725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juliette_heronstairs_apples/pseuds/Juliette_heronstairs_apples
Summary: Harry is back for the sixth year, and the threat of Grindelwald is bigger than ever. Tom is off scheming somewhere, Ron is continually shocked by Ginny's bids for independence, and Harry keeps feeling vaguely guilty about being mean to Neville and then continuing to be mean. The characters are all really OOC, sorry, and I essentially just made up Tom's character.





	1. Chapter 1

Harry mentally berated himself after he had run onto platform 9¾, because he was pretty sure a muggle had seen him. Sirius was certainly too laid back to berate him. He searched for his friends, turning round every so often to check Sirius was still behind him.  
  
Suddenly, he caught sight of a ginger head above everyone else's, and grinned as he headed towards Ron. Ginny would be pissed, she hated being the shortest by miles- and there she was, next to Ron, arguing with Mrs Weasley about something. Ron spotted Harry and poked Ginny, interrupting her tirade, so they could get on the train together and get a carriage.  
Harry turned round and hugged Sirius firmly but briefly, taking his suitcase and Hedwig's cage. He made for the train, then turned, looking horrified.  
"My broom-"  
"I've got it, I've got it. Sure you can manage all that?" Sirius laughed. Harry grumbled at him and pulled a face, but gave him another, longer hug.  
"Have a good time at school, stay out of too much trouble but don't be boring, write to me every week, oh God stay away from that Riddle boy-"  
"I will be fine, Sirius, thank you. You don't need to worry, and yes, I will write to you. See you at Christmas!"  
"Harry seriously be careful-"  
"Yes, yes-"  
"_Grindelwald_-"  
"The train's about to leave, I will be extremely careful, got to go! I'll write to you!" With that, Harry finally ran to the train, where Ron was waiting at a door.  
"Blimey, Sirius can be even worse than my mum sometimes, and that's saying something. We've got to find a carriage now, or there won't be any space."  
  
They hurried down the train, then stopped in relief when they saw that Hermione and Ginny were in a carriage by themselves, with their bags spread over the seats to save them for the boys. Ginny was really only there because she knew Draco would drop in to see Harry and Tom, but it was nice to have her company.  
  
Hermione gave them a look when they sat down.  
"What took you two so long? We nearly lost this carriage to Justin Finch-Fletchley, of all people!"  
"Sirius," the boys said in unison. Hermione rolled her eyes, but let them off.  
  
Three minutes later, the train started moving, and after they waved off their parents/panicking godparent, they started talking. It was sixth year, a year of relative rest sandwiched between OWLs and NEWTs. Their OWLs' results had just been delivered to them, and they discussed their OWLs together, with Ginny listening nervously (she was entering fifth year).  
"But I thought I would get higher in Ancient Runes! I know I could have done better!" Hermione fretted.  
"Hermione, you literally got full marks, you have no reason to worry," Ron rolled his eyes.  
"But it's not the marks I got that matter, it's the four marks I dropped! I'll never be able to face the teachers again!"  
"Oh give it a rest, like the rest of us did anywhere near as good..."  
Harry stopped listening, content to let Hermione and Ron argue and Ginny fret. To be quite honest, his mind was on "that Riddle boy"- Tom had usually come to their carriage by now. He never sat anywhere else; Harry was being honest when he said he was Tom's only friend. He could have had more friends, heaven knew Draco spent all his time hanging around him, but for some reason he only put up with Harry. Harry wasn't sure why: what with Grindelwald attacking Hogwarts solely to kill Harry last year (Harry had received all the credit for fending him off, but Tom was the only one who had actually done anything. Harry's first thought had been oh no he's hot when he first saw Grindelwald and his next thoughts had all been panicky static as he realised that McGonagall was in hospital and therefore too far away to help him against Grindelwald. Hogwarts would have been annihilated if Tom hadn't called Nagini to the rescue) and Sirius' undisguised loathing of him (Tom), plus Harry's general awkwardness combined with a short temper, Harry wasn't the best of friends.  
  
As if his thoughts had summoned him (Tom did occasionally seem vaguely demonic) the teen himself walked in, already in uniform. Dropping down next to Harry by the window, he stared at nothing enigmatically and acted as if the whole carriage hadn't gone silent when he walked in. Hermione was the first to break the silence, quipping with a raised eyebrow, "Took your time, Riddle. Got lost on the way to the platform and flew here on your magic snake, I suppose?"  
Tom smiled with naked distaste at Hermione. "Actually I was hiding in the bathroom, putting off your company for as long as possible."  
  
Ron and Hermione weren't exactly Tom's biggest fans, and vice versa. Tom was in Slytherin, and didn't try to hide that he spent most of his time plotting to bump off various annoying students (Harry always persuaded him not to follow through), plus being top in all of his classes, which infuriated Hermione, as he was her only competitor for cleverest student in the year. Ron being an honest, straightforward person, Tom's constant scheming and general slyness didn't exactly endear the two to each other. They only put up with each other for Harry (Ginny was another story entirely. Not for Harry, not even for one of of her brothers would she have put up with Tom Riddle, but Draco worshipped him, and so, due to her massive crush on said Draco, she made an effort to be civil).  
  
As the train journey went on, Draco, who never stayed in one train carriage, popped in several times to suck up to Tom and blush at Ginny. The third time, he stayed for rather a long time, flirting with Ginny and occasionally trying to catch Tom's attention, until Ron cleared his throat and made meaningful glances towards his wand and Draco's neck. Draco rolled his eyes, but decided not to pick a fight with his crush's brother, and left. Harry heard Tom mumble "thank God" under his breath, and kicked him. Tom looked up, favouring Harry with a rare smile.  
"What? He's annoying, and he doesn't know when to give up. Followers I can tolerate, but friends I won't have."  
Harry decided not to ask what they were, then, and went back to arguing with Ron about the merits of the Chudley Cannons. When the train stopped, they crowded into a thestral-drawn carriage, with Tom and subsequently Draco squeezing in with the four. Harry sat between Tom and Ron, with Draco opposite Tom to hopefully prevent any fights. They managed to get through the carriage ride with only one death threat (Ron to Draco) and Tom wasn't even involved in it. Harry was proud.

* * *

  
They headed into the Hall afterwards, with Tom and Draco peeling off to the Slytherin table and Ginny going to sit with her friends. Harry, Ron and Hermione tried to sit as close to the front as possible, to see the poor squirming first years as they were Sorted, with Seamus and Dean grinning at them as they tried to do the same. They found Neville in a premium position almost at the head of the table, but still hidden behind others from the teachers, and hurriedly sat down next to him, feigning extreme pleasure to see him as their reason for sitting down so quickly. To be fair, Neville's face lighting up did then make Harry feel a bit bad.  
  
Gryffindor got a few kids Harry considered to have Quidditch potential, but not many. Most of them were weedy, pale-faced brats; speaking as someone who had once been a first year himself, Harry knew that none of them really had personalities. Personalities started to develop in the second year, and only finished in third year. Luckily, as Quidditch Captain, he only needed to evaluate their sporting skills. He had been offered the position of Prefect as well, but due to the looming threat of Grindelwald he had been advised to turn it down as it could cause too much pressure, and had done so. Hilariously, Ron had subsequently been offered the position. He was going to turn it down, but Harry persuaded him to reconsider.  
  
After the Sorting, they ate, then went to their rooms. Harry wanted to crash straight away, but the other boys wanted to catch up with each other, so he and Ron ended up playing several magical card games with the others. Neville continually lost, to no one's surprise, and Ron won most of them, with Dean winning most of the rest. They put away the card games and when Hermione came running in, breathless, they were laughing and talking.  
"Harry-" she wheezed. "You have to- now- it's Draco."  
Harry looked at her. "I dislike Draco intensely," Ron coughed furiously, "why would I be needed?"  
"Because Tom got involved."  
"Shit." Harry said succinctly, and with Ron at his heels he sprinted downstairs after Hermione.

* * *

Outside the portrait of the Fat Lady, a bunch of Gryffindors and were yelling at Draco, who was yelling right back. Tom was surrounded by another bunch of Gryffindors, and though not yelling, was clearly extremely pissed. Harry decided to tackle Tom first, and pushed his way through the crowd.  
  
A fifth year Harry vaguely recognised, Something Miller, was right in front of Tom bawling something about snakey filth. Tom said something extremely rude about Miller's mother, and the general state of her marriage to Miller's father, and Something Miller let out a howl and tried to wrap his hands around Tom's neck, with Harry stepping in just in time to stop him.  
"Now, what's this about?" Harry tried to sound calm and reasonable, and then backed away slightly when both ??? Miller and Tom gave him death stares worthy of Tom's cat, Pettigrew.  
"Riddle here was trying to get into the Gryffindor common room, which is never going to happen, because Slytherin bastards aren't worthy of stepping foot in our rooms. He-"  
"I couldn't actually give a fuck about your rooms," Tom interrupted icily. "It's the principle of the thing-" here Miller tried to interrupt and failed because Tom just raised his voice, "now, Draco here was trying to get in to see Ginny, and I for one would be disgusted if they got together, but the fact that you Gryffindors think you're so much better than everyone else, and no one else is allowed in your rooms, incited within me a natural desire to crush this pig-headed stupidity. You're all arrogant prats, and despite the fact no one wants to visit you, they should be allowed to."  
"#rantover," Harry mumbled, earning him another glare from Tom.  
Miller growled at Tom and stepped forward, but Harry pushed him back. "Calm down, Miller. He has a little bit of a point and besides, you're not going to listen to a Slytherin, are you?" He turned to Tom. "And you're not going to provoke him anymore, _are you_?"  
Miller snarled. "See, this is my point. He deliberately provokes people. And besides, Potter, you may be the Chosen One but we all know you're too partial to Slytherins to be a true Gryffindor. Am I right?" He looked round at his group, but nobody was agreeing with him. Aside from the sound of Draco screaming at the other Gryffindors further down the corridor, there was silence. Harry was popular enough that nobody really wanted to pick a fight with him, even if it meant walking away from a Slyhterin. Miller, realising that he was on his own, grumbled loudly and stalked away towards the common rooms.  
  
"Right," Harry sighed, also turning back to the Fat Lady. But Tom cleared his throat and nodded his head towards Draco, giving Harry a meaningful glance.  
"Oh, come on," Harry protested. "Since when have we cared about Draco? I want to go relax and pretend to myself that I'm going to do homework."  
Tom rolled his eyes. "You're the Chosen One, you're supposed to look out for the little people. And we haven't even got any homework yet. Besides, you're the only person with enough social status to stop it. If you don't step in, it could go on for hours."  
Harry let out an exaggerated groan of resignation, and Tom frowned. "Also, why am I suddenly the nice one?"  
"Draco's a big boy, he can look out for himself. And I am the nice one. I'm just also inherently lazy."  
Tom snorted. "Too true. Now get Malfoy out of this mess."  
Harry reluctantly made his way towards the other group of Gryffindors, pushing his way through the crowd to Hermione and Ron, where Draco was yelling at two fifth years and a sixth year, while a few fourth years occasionally chimed in "Fight! Fight!". Harry stepped forward, and the fourth years and one of the fifth years quietened down. However, Matt Hannigan and the other fifth year kept yelling roughly the same things that Miller had been yelling at Tom, at Draco. Harry stepped between the three, but Matt simply pushed him to the side, albeit lightly (they shared the special bond of doing Potions homework at three am the day it was due in the common room together) and kept yelling that Draco should never even try to set foot in the Gryffindor rooms. Draco's face grew redder and redder until his hair looked sheet white compared to his crimson complexion. Finally, he exploded.  
"MANGY LION SCUM, TRYING TO TELL A MALFOY WHAT TO DO," he howled. "I TRY TO PAY A VISIT TO MY GIRLFRIEND, AND YOU-"  
"WHAT?" Ron roared, suddenly joining in. "YOUR GIRLFRIEND? MY SISTER?!"  
"Oh, for the love of Salazar," Harry heard Tom mutter. He turned around just in time to see Tom walk away, ignoring Harry's look of betrayal.  
Ron shoved Matt and the fifth year to the side and shoved his face close to Draco's.  
"How bloody dare you," he fumed. "My sister, my own sister, and you dare put your filthy hands on her! I swear, Malfoy, I will kill you-"  
"Ron!" Ginny had come out of the common room to see what was going on. "Ron, what are you- oh, hello, Dra- Malfoy," she blushed.  
This made Ron even angrier, adding insult to to injury. He opened his mouth to continue roaring, but Hermione gave him a quick jab in the stomach and he doubled over wheezing. Draco took the opportunity to try to move closer to Ginny, though the crowd prevented him from moving too far. She too moved towards him, and as she was a Gryffindor and the crowd wanted drama, she was able to move through the people with ease.  
  
Ron started forward again, having recovered. "How long has this-" he motioned between Draco and Ginny with a disgusted expression, "been going on? Because I had no clue about it."  
"That was sort of the point, Ron," Ginny said icily. "Now could we please continue this elsewhere? In case you didn't know, all of Gryffindor is watching you make a fool of yourself."  
Harry could practically feel the anger radiating from his friend, but Ron had to concede the logic of her point. He stormed over to the Fat Lady, mentioning for Draco and Ginny to follow. Draco didn't look like he particularly wanted to talk to Ron, if the disdain on his face was anything to go by, and someone protested against a Slytherin going in their rooms, but Ginny squeezed Draco's hand and Ron turned and glowered at the protester, and so the crowd went dejectedly on with their day and Ron, Hermione, Harry, Ginny and Draco went up to Ron and Harry's room, kicking Neville out without a backward glance (though Harry did feel vaguely guilty about it).

* * *

"Right," Ron was breathing very heavily and his ears had gone red, signs that he would explode at a moment's notice. "I just want to know, Malfoy, why you would ever, ever, think I would let you date my sister. She's only fifteen-"  
"I'm sixteen, Ron, and you don't get to decide who I date. You don't even know how old I am; how could you know who's right for me? You're so controlling." Ginny interrupted furiously.  
"And you're too young to decide who you date! Wait until you're out of school-"  
"Out of school?" Ginny howled, and Ron started yelling back.  
  
Harry stopped paying attention and leant back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Hermione prodded him and mouthed Quidditch timetables with a frown. Harry waved her off and pointed at the battered clock; it was nearly time to go to bed. She rolled her eyes.  
  
Subsequently, Harry spent the next ten minutes staring at the ceiling while Hermione did extra work she had somehow already asked for, and Draco awkwardly looked anywhere but Ginny and Ron. Finally, Draco cleared his throat and pointed out that he needed to go back to his dormitory or he would be locked out. He then scowled and said he didn't need permission, and walked out anyway after saying goodnight to Ginny, with Ron screeching "we will have WORDS, Malfoy!!" after him. Hermione waved Neville back in regally (he had been awkwardly waiting outside, wanting to go to bed) and left for her room too.  
  
Ginny began to leave as well, but Ron grabbed her sleeve and said,  
"Seriously. Be careful. He is a Malfoy."  
Ginny rolled her eyes and started to walk off, but then Ron said "Ginny," in a worried tone, and she softened a bit.  
"I know what I'm doing, Ron. I'll be fine."  
He sighed, and she left, and Neville cleared his throat awkwardly.  
"Soooo... do I pretend I didn't hear anything?"  
Ron looked at him weirdly. "Uh, yeah."  
Neville mumbled "ok" under his breath dejectedly and for the third time that day Harry felt bad and did nothing about it.  
  
Then Dean and Seamus walked in and started chatting, and Harry was overcome by a sudden sense of déjà vu- the term always started like this. He felt a wave of peace and familiarity roll over him and walked into Ron as he reminisced. Ron kicked him lightly and the four of them started playing cards again, with Neville fluttering in the background about how he wanted to go to bed. Finally, he gave in and joined the game, and lost again.  
  
After several rounds of cards, the boys finally started to go to bed. Dean turned out the lights, and Harry finally began to drift off, exhausted. His last thought was that he had a lot to tell Tom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry has: Quidditch tryouts, Potions lessons, Defense Against The Dark Arts lessons with a lovelorn teacher, two fighting friends who pretend they're not in love with each other, and another friend who's acting a bit weird. But with rumours of Grindelwald rising again, which will he choose: fighting evil or matchmaking?
> 
> This is across two days btw.

* * *

The next day, Harry woke up ridiculously early. He lay in bed for a bit, not thinking about anything, not doing anything, just relaxing, and then he got up quietly, trying not to wake the others. Dean was already up, and smiled at him a bit before going into the bathroom. Harry got dressed quickly, waited impatiently for Dean to leave the bathroom, and in a short while he went downstairs.  
  
There weren't very many people around, and Harry was one of only five sixth year Gryffindors up. They ate in silence together, until Harry suddenly realised that he had to organise his Quidditch timetables, which he should have done over the summer. He started shovelling his food down his mouth, until Hermione came into the dining hall, holding papers. As she got closer, he realised she was holding his papers needed for the time tabling, and heaved out a sigh of relief. He ushered her over and she sat down with a stern look. "Harry, you have to-"  
"I know, I know, thank you for bringing it. I was panicking. Will you help me?" Harry gave her his most pathetic look and she sighed, rolled her eyes, and spread out the papers.  
  
Half an hour later, with Hermione's excellent help, Harry had finished the timetabling, and had decided to have Quidditch practice on Tuesdays and Sundays. He got up with Hermione and Dean, and they were walking to the doors when Seamus came running in, hair and tie askew and completely out of breath, and dragged Dean back to the table. And then Hermione suddenly dashed off, remembering an appointment with a teacher, so then it was just Harry, realising that he was walking out of the hall at the same time as Tom from the Slytherin table and wondering frantically whether he should talk to him or not.  
  
In the end, the decision was made for him, because a group of first years came rushing in, knocking Tom against Harry. Tom brushed himself off disdainfully and said hello, and so Harry, secretly whooping, made conversation with him all the way to the stairs.  
  
There they parted, because Tom was going down and Harry was going up. Harry found himself smiling as he walked up the stairs for no reason, but he snapped himself out of it when the fifth year from the night before, who had been yelling at Draco with Matt, smiled at him. He smiled politely back and looked away, but she walked up to him.  
"So... I thought that was really nice of you. What you did last night. I mean, obviously a Slytherin should never have set foot in our rooms, but, you know, "looking out for the little people", am I right?"  
"Funny, that's what Tom said," Harry murmured.  
"Who?" She smiled politely, confused. "Oh, my name's Romy, by the way. I'm a half blood, but my dad was a Forsyth, so I am still from a pretty important family."  
"I... ok," Harry said. "Great to know. I also happen to be a half blood, and Tom also happens to be one of the Slytherins you didn't want to let in. My friend."  
"Oh!" She blushed furiously, clearly very embarrassed and shocked, and hurried away. Harry shrugged and walked on.  
  
Once he had grabbed his bag, he hurried down to Potions. He met Hermione and Ron on the way, looking away from each other with scowls on their faces.  
"Er. Hermione?" He tried tentatively.  
She turned round with an impatient look. "What?"  
"What's a Forsyth?"  
"Oh!" She brightened. "They're this really important wizarding family, it was this huge deal when the second son married a Muggle. But it blew over pretty quickly, because none of the children were Squibs, and that was all they cared about. The Forsyths were instrumental in driving back the trolls way back in the 1500s, and they lived off that fame for a while, then in the 1600s they helped with the vampires, and again they lived off that success, then in the 1700s they helped with the werewolves. Every century, they turn out a powerhouse who always helps with some sort of uprising."  
Harry blinked. "Well, that was way more than I wanted to know, but thank you."  
Dealt with Hermione, onto Ron, he thought.  
"Hey, Ron, when are Chudley Cannons next playing?"  
Hermione raised her eyebrows as she realised what he was doing. But Ron's face lit up, meaning it had worked, and that was all that mattered.  
"They're playing against the Holyhead Harpies in two weeks; I'm so excited! They have this new Beater, a guy called Wren. He looks pretty beefy, so hopefully he'll give us that extra edge that we need. We've been losing so much recently."  
"Cool," said Harry, interested. "What's this Wren guy's first name?"  
"Uhhhhh... Christopher? I'm not sure, I can't really remember. Possibly it was-"  
"It can't have been Christopher." Hermione interrupted. "Christopher Wren is someone different."  
Ron crossed his arms and scowled. "No, it was definitely Christopher. I remember now, Christopher Wren. That's him. The new Beater."  
Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Christopher Wren was the architect who designed St Paul's Cathedral, you idiot! He died in 1723. So unless your Beater is an astronomer, an architect and also immortal, I'm pretty sure he's not Christopher Wren."  
"He was definitely called Christopher Wren. This architect guy must be fake, I'm right."  
Hermione's face went purple. "Christopher Wren was not fake!! How do you fake designing a building?! Did you not hear a word I said-"  
"There can be two Christopher Wrens," Harry interjected hastily. They had reached the dungeons by that point, and Draco sauntered past with a smirk.  
"Trouble in paradise?" He sneered.  
But then Ron suddenly realised it was Draco, and choked out "YOU- MY SISTER-"  
Draco sprinted into the classroom with Ron close behind.  
  
Tom tapped Harry on the shoulder, making him jump.  
"What did they argue about this time, the existence of the sun?"  
Harry frowned. "How could they argue about the existence of the sun? They both know it exists."  
"I wouldn't put not knowing past Weasley," Tom shrugged, and Harry swatted him with a frown.  
"Ron's not as stupid as you think he is!" Harry protested.  
"But he's close."

* * *

In the classroom, Snape was waiting.  
"Ah, Mr Potter. Late again, I see. That would be ten points from Gryffindor."  
He glided forward slowly, and Pansy Parkinson giggled.  
"You're so majestic, Professor. You look like a raven, solemn and proud. And all in black. It's really sexy."  
Snape looked vaguely disgusted, but resigned (Pansy's crush on Snape was long established) and Draco muttered "not again, Pansy".  
Tom snorted. "You know the most depressing thing? She's the voice of reason out of her, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Her."  
"Tom, much as I appreciate your company, shouldn't you be sitting with the Slytherins?" Harry asked, silently praying he wouldn't move. Tom opened his mouth, but Snape got there first.  
"Good point, Mr Potter. So you can occasionally be useful. Mr Riddle, I am going to have to ask you to leave Mr Potter, if you can bear it, and go to your house."  
"I dislike everybody in my house, but I can just about tolerate Ha- Potter."  
Draco looked hurt and shocked, and Snape rolled his eyes.  
"Nevertheless, Mr Riddle. Move."  
Tom groaned, got up, and went to sit by himself, though Draco did offer him a seat. Harry inwardly cursed.  
  
The lesson was exceedingly boring; they were covering the theory of advanced healing potions, and the common elements they shared to retain their healing powers. Hermione continually got everything right, as did Tom, but everybody else found the topic mind-numbingly dull, meaning no one focused and so no one else was able to answer any questions. By the end of the lesson, Neville was close to tears, Snape practically had smoke coming out of his ears, Harry felt even more dead inside than usual, and Tom was as blank faced as ever. Pansy, undeterred, had been staring at Snape in adoration the whole lesson.  
  
After Potions, they had Charms, then History of Magic, then lunch. Once they had eaten, Harry, Hermione and Ron went out to the grounds to relax, and to remind themselves that there was a purpose in life, even though History of Magic existed.  
  
Harry was lying on the ground next to the lake, as was Ron, while Hermione was sitting up and doing homework, when Neville, Ginny and Luna approached them. Ron cursed slightly under his breath, earning him a slap from Hermione.  
"Hey, guys," Neville sat down next to them. "Potions was awful, but I think I'm really getting the hang of Charms! I can levitate multiple things at a time, and I'm not really messing up my new spells anymore!"  
Nobody spoke about History of Magic.  
"I'm sure you're doing really well, Neville," said Luna, gazing at nothing in particular. Suddenly, she focused on something in the lake, causing everyone to jump to their feet in alarm.  
"What? What do you see?" Ginny asked in horror. Luna looked mildly confused.  
"Why do you all look so scared?"  
"Because whenever you find something interesting, the rest of us usually find it terrifying." Ginny explained with a quaking voice, staring at the lake.  
Luna laughed. "Oh, I was just looking at the new seaweed they've brought in."  
Everyone relaxed.  
"It's flesh-eating," she explained.  
Everyone panicked.  
Luna looked shocked. "What? It's really rare, it's interesting!"  
"Not so interesting when I'm worried about how quickly I'll get a tour of their throat and digestive system!" Ron backed away with his hands up as Luna laughed.  
"They don't have throats, silly! The acid on their surfaces is what breaks down the flesh."  
Ron stared at her. "Great. Great to know."  
"It is, isn't it?" Said Luna brightly.  
"Er, Luna?" Quavered Neville. "Will the seaweed attack us?"  
"No, of course not! They can't move, obviously." Luna shook her head at them, and Ron rolled his eyes and muttered something. But they all sat down again anyway, and savored the sun until the end of break.

* * *

By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted. But as Harry lay in bed, he felt full of joy. Much as he loved Sirius, he adored being at Hogwarts with his friends, learning so he could be useful when he was older, playing Quidditch on a proper pitch with a proper team. Which reminded him, he had Quidditch tryouts tomorrow. Time to see if any of the first formers had any talent, though none had been made part of a team in first year since Harry himself.  
  
His last thought was that he hadn't seen Tom very much that day.

* * *

The first lesson the next day was Defence Against the Dark Arts with Lupin, who had been friends with Harry's father and so was close to Harry (and very close to Sirius).  
  
When Harry walked into the classroom, Draco was messing around with his friends, making noise and a mess. Pansy was sighing about Snape on a desk, while Crabbe and Goyle picked on smaller people in the classroom. Draco himself was strutting around the classroom trying to make Tom notice him, which Harry scowled at. There was no way Tom was going to notice him. Tom only liked Harry. Although of course Harry wanted him to make more friends.  
  
Ron burst into the classroom, fuming.  
"Harry! Harry, you'll never guess what Ginny did."  
"Make another bid for independence?" Harry muttered.  
"I caught her planning what she and her friends would do at Hogsmeade! Without my consultation! Obviously I don't particularly want to go round Hogsmeade with her, but I need to know what she's doing! I don't know what she was thinking."  
"Ron, stop it," said Hermione irritably. "Let the girl have her independence. She's mature enough to decide for herself what she wants to do, and she's not your responsibility."  
Ron swelled impressively. "You don't even have siblings-"  
At that moment, Lupin walked in, and Harry kicked Ron to make him shut up.  
"Right, class, settle down. Harry, I'll talk to you after class, if that's all right."  
Harry nodded, certain he knew what Lupin what say.  
When the class was sitting down, Lupin cleared his throat. "Today, we are going to be continuing our study of the siren's song..."  
The lesson was a stark contrast to Snape's one. It was informative and interesting, and Harry put his hand up for most of the questions, and got the ones he was picked for right. After class, he went to Lupin's desk, and sure enough, Lupin coughed awkwardly and started asking about Sirius.  
"So, anyway," he finished, "it's just that he hasn't written me a letter in a while and I was wondering if he was ok. Though of course he isn't obligated to write me letters. It's just," he coughed again, "well, you know."  
"Oh, I do," Harry nodded. Remus frowned. "You know we're just friends, Harry. There's nothing more between us."  
"Of course! Of course. I know that very well." Harry nodded again, trying to suppress a smile. Judging by the look on Lupin's face, it didn't work.  
"Anyway," he sighed. "Run along to your next class now. And you don't need to say anything to Sirius. I just wanted to check he was alright, that's all. I mean, of course he's alright. Not writing me a letter doesn't mean he's not alright. I- anyway, you can go now, Harry."  
Harry shoved down a laugh and left.  
  
The next lesson was Transfiguration, and as always, Harry did pretty well, Ron did ok, and Hermione was amazing. Professor McGonagall was in a particularly bad mood about something, and Harry, fearing it was something to do with Grindelwald, stayed behind to ask her what the matter was.  
  
"Mr Potter," she breathed out a tense sigh and took off her glasses, folding them carefully. "Is there a reason you are making yourself late to your next lesson, or did you just feel like staying?"  
"I noticed you looked worried, Professor, and especially after last year, I thought I should check if there were any further developments on... you know. Grindelwald."  
Harry had a thing about saying his name. Nobody else did, except for Dumbledore, because to them he was terrifying and insurmountable but still a person. But to Dumbledore he was so much more, a lover, a mortal enemy, a best friend, and Dumbledore's reluctance to name his former ally had rubbed off on Harry.  
  
McGonagall rubbed her face. "To tell you the truth, Potter, rumours say he is going to attack again, and will keep attacking until he can defeat Nagini. And the only wizard right now strong enough to defeat him is Dumbledore, but he is- well. I shouldn't speak ill of our headmaster. I am sure he is doing the best he can. Breakups can be hard." The last part was coated in thinly veiled sarcasm, and Harry was sure she had very strong opinions about Dumbledore's refusal to take on Grindelwald. But she rubbed her face again and said, "Go. You're already late, Potter, and we will tell you if any serious developments arise."  
Harry thanked her and ran off to Herbology, thinking about Dumbledore.

* * *

Later in the day, Harry went along to the Quidditch pitch, already in his robes. He stood in the middle of it for a minute, breathing in the fresh air, feeling the wood of his broom, admiring the glinting hoops. Quidditch Captain. He never thought he'd see the day.  
  
Then the spectators started crowding into the stands, and the people trying out filed onto the pitch, some nervous, the older years not so nervous. Harry grinned broadly at Katie and Ginny, and held his breath, wondering if Ron would come to try out, considering his colossal failure at the end of last year. It wasn't that Ron wasn't good, Harry reflected, because he was, it was that the pressure could get to him, and Harry didn't know whether he should pick his friend if the tryout went less than perfect, especially if Ron started chanting Charlie's Anthem. Harry had heard too much of Charlie's Anthem last year.  
  
And then Ron did come running on to the pitch, slightly out of breath. Harry felt his heart swell when among the boos there were cheers too. He looked up to see Luna and Neville waving a Gryffindor banner saying GO RON! on it and he waved at them, grinning. Hermione was sitting with them too, and he could see her trying desperately not to smile at Ron.  
  
He started the tryouts, and quickly eliminated the various Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and people who had never even flown on a broom and were simply coming to stare at him. He chose Katie Bell as a Chaser again very quickly, and as well as Ginny, and then also a girl called Demelza Robins, who was in Ginny's year, and had been described by Ginny as being calm under pressure. The Beaters were a little trickier, but finally Harry chose a third year called Larry (Ron found it hilarious) and after a little more consideration Matt Hannigan, because despite his hatred of Slytherins (which could be useful on the field) he was extremely good.  
  
Then it was time to choose the Keepers. (Harry had, obviously, got a Seeker. Himself.) The first up was Cormac McLaggen, who was in the year above Harry, and had earned himself Harry's eternal dislike by- well, by being Cormac. Harry just genuinely disliked everything about his personality, and sincerely hoped he wouldn't have to put him on the team. He was rooting for Ron.  
  
Cormac tried out, and saved the goal easily the first three times. The fourth, Harry threw the Quaffle in a particularly tricky way and Cormac did fumble a bit, but caught it just in time. The fifth time, Harry, determined to get rid of him, threw the Quaffle as hard and fast as he could in an arcing loop towards the left hoop, because Cormac was slightly to the right. Thankfully, Cormac didn't catch it, meaning that unless everyone else did really badly, Harry wouldn't have to pick him. But then he suddenly realised, with a sinking heart, that he would have to be just as hard on everyone else or he would be called out for being unfair. Would Ron survive that?  
  
After Cormac, there were a few younger years, none of whom caught the fourth and fifth throws. Cormac was grinning broadly, having been the only one so far to catch the fourth. Harry was internally screaming at Ron to catch both throws.  
  
When it was finally Ron's turn to try out, he was whistling Charlie's Anthem nervously, and Harry felt the cold chasm of despair opening wide at his feet.  


_(But what is Charlie's Anthem, you ask? Well, when the Weasleys were younger, Charlie came up with a song to encourage the younger ones in Quidditch. When Harry first came to the Weasleys, he was taught the song too, and it was an anthem of great pride. But last year, when Ron had first been on the team, on the last game of the year, when Gryffindor needed to win to get the House Cup (Harry hadn't been on the team because of Umbridge), Ron had had a particularly difficult Quaffle thrown at him and had actually closed his eyes and sung Charlie's Anthem loudly and off-key, hoping it would give him luck. It certainly gave him luck: bad luck. From that day on, Ron was notorious for being "bad at Quidditch" and Charlie's Anthem became a song of shame and defeat. Thanks, Ron.)_

He caught the first two Quaffles easily, but just barely caught the third one after he fumbled it from nerves. Harry held his breath and crossed his fingers and sure enough- Ron caught the fourth Quaffle! Harry let out the breath in a sigh of relief, hoping he could get away with making the fifth Quaffle slightly easier. But McLaggen was watching eagle-eyed, making sure he would be chosen for the team, and the school was watching too, wondering if Ron could be forgiven for last year. Harry sent up a prayer to heaven and threw his hardest Quaffle yet: arcing far above Ron where it would just go in the hoops, and spinning too. Ron was dead centre, so Harry made it seem as though he was going to throw to the right and threw to the left instead. He mouthed sorry to Ron as he threw it, but Ron didn't see him, focused as he was on his goal. Time seemed to slow as everybody watched with bated breath to see if he would catch the Quaffle or not.  
  
And he caught it. Harry let out a whoop, as did Hermione, Luna and Neville (and sort of Ginny). He was rid of Cormac McLaggen! More importantly, Ron was with him, and had a chance to re-prove himself as a good Quidditch player. He clapped Ron on the back and grinned.  
  
There were two other people after Ron, but Harry knew both of them and they were pretty bad. Sure enough, neither of them caught either the fourth or the fifth Quaffle. Harry felt ridiculously happy.  
  
Ron was practically glowing as they walked out.  
"And did you see- you threw it as hard as you could, and you made it your most difficult one, and I caught it! I actually caught it, and last year doesn't matter now, because I'm on the team again! Oh Merlin, I'm so happy. You can probably tell."  
Hermione laughed and gave him a Look. (The sort of I-think-you're-adorable look one gives to one's crush.)  
"We're very proud. Even Ginny. You really deserve it."  
She blushed up at him, dimples appearing as she smiled, and Ron gave googly eyes back at her, and there was an awkward silence as any pretence of Ronmione just being friends was obliterated.  
  
Tom appeared by Harry's shoulder, looking uncharacteristically uncomfortable, and asked him quietly if he could talk to Harry for a second. Harry looked at Ron hesitantly (it was Ron's big moment) but Ron smiled and said it was fine, and ushered Harry away with Tom even when Harry was still unsure. Tom looked slightly hurt that Harry had needed to ask, but Harry reminded himself that Tom had never been there for him on his bad days.  
  
In an empty classroom, Tom sat on a desk (very unlike him), took a deep breath as if he was going to say something important, and then let it all out again in a rush and said in an ordinary tone of voice, "I saw you at the Quidditch trials. You were good."  
Harry grinned bemusedly. "You never watch Quidditch."  
Tom coughed. "Yes, well," he looked away. "I made an exception. This time. I won't usually come." He said the last part fiercely, as if he was expecting Harry to challenge him. Harry held up his hands.  
"I wasn't expecting you too, it's your choice. But," he grinned awkwardly. "Thank you for coming this time. My first year as Quidditch Captain!!" He practically squealed, and Tom laughed, before catching himself and stopping.  
"Anyway," Tom coughed again. "There wasn't really anything I wanted to say. Just. Yeah. I watched the tryouts."  
"Yeah?" Harry stared at him. "Tom, you've never said yeah before in your life. Are you ok?"  
He frowned. "Of course. I am quite alright. I simply wanted to inform you." He looked extremely uncomfortable, with his arms crossed protectively over his chest and his teeth worrying at his lower lip. Harry eyed him doubtfully.  
"Well, alright. If you're sure."  
Tom nodded, and coughed for the third time. "Yes, well, I had better be going now. I'll, uh, probably see you around."  
"Tom, wait!" Harry caught his sleeve. "You've been coughing an awful lot, and your cheeks are flushed. You could be ill."  
Tom shook his head. "No, no I'm," he hesitated. "I'm not quite ill."  
And with that, he left, though Harry called after him again_._

* * *

Harry was moody over dinner that evening, and Ron and Hermione eyed him knowingly.  
"How was Tom?" Hermione asked. Harry rolled his eyes at her.  
"He was fine, it's nothing to do with him."  
Hermione raised her eyebrows.  
"Isn't it?"  
Harry caved. "I'm just a bit worried about him, that's all. He looked ill, and he was acting a bit weird. But it's probably nothing."  
He continued to stare moodily into space, and Hermione sighed.  
"Well, how hard did you try to talk to him?"  
Harry sat upright indignantly. "Very hard! But he ran off before I could get to the bottom of it, and I haven't seen him since." He bit his lip and tried to see if Tom was at the Slytherin table, which he had already tried to do twice that meal.  
Hermione patted him on the arm.  
"Well, I'm sure he'll turn up tomorrow. You'll see."  
But Harry wasn't so sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For clarification, I do know that the Beaters were other people in the sixth book, but I decided that if we couldn't have Fred and George we would have fresh blood. Also the trials are just after lunch, I'm not sure why they let the students off lessons instead of doing the trials on the weekends but oh well. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Kudos and comments much appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has minimal plot :/ and is mainly just HarryxTom angst?? But not particularly strong angst, rest assured.

Two days had passed since the Quidditch trials, and Tom still hadn't talked to Harry. Harry was now actively looking for Tom everywhere he went, but he thought Tom was just as actively avoiding him. Draco said he hadn't seen him either, and Harry thought he was telling the truth, but he wasn't sure.  
  
Finally, he went to the teachers, and asked if Tom had been in lessons. Professor McGonagall gave nothing away but Flitwick, squeaking worriedly, said he had turned up for the first day but not the second. Did Mr Potter have any idea where Mr Riddle might be? No, Mr Potter did not have any idea, and it was pissing him off. Mr Potter did not say that last part to Professor Flitwick.  
  
Feeling miserable, Harry went out to the grounds and wandered around the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Harry had practically lived in it his first three years, and he knew it inside out, but he wasn't in the mood for the inevitable excitement the wood always brought. Tom didn't go in there very much, did he? _Did _he? Harry hadn't got a clue, he realised. He had known Tom since second year, and he didn't know where he went to sulk. What kind of friend was he?

Hesat down on a tree stump and sulked himself. Letting out a groan of fatigue, he tipped his head back, closed his eyes, and wondered idly how late he could get away with being to History of Magic. Pretty late, probably.  
  
He soon became aware of the feeling of being watched. Turning round, he found Tom standing right behind him, screamed, and fell off his tree stump onto the hard ground. Tom looked down at him cautiously, and held out a hand to help him up as he asked, "are you alright?  
Harry slumped against Tom once he was upright. "No! I just fell off a _tree. _And my best friend other than Ron but he's different has been avoiding me. And Hermione's probably also my best friend- anyway, where have you been?!"  
Tom blinked, a slow, fond smile playing on his lips. "You said I was ill. I was resting."  
"No one knew where you were!" Harry glared at him, crossing his arms. "Even- actually, did Draco know? But Professor Flitwick says you were there for the first day, and you were still avoiding me! None of this 'I was ill' bullshit. What did I do?"  
"#rantover," Tom said, smiling hesitantly at him. Harry tried to keep his glare up, but a small reciprocal smile escaped. Tom visibly relaxed when he saw that.  
"It doesn't matter," Tom said hurriedly. Harry frowned, but Tom shook his head obstinately. Then he held a hand out to Harry awkwardly. "Should we go to lessons?"  
Harry relaxed, glad to have him back, and gave up. He nodded just as awkwardly back. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, let's go."  
  
As they walked away, Harry desperately wanted to ask him if they were still friends. But he wasn't sure if Tom would count them as friends in the first place. He only wanted "followers", apparently.  
Besides, did Harry want to be something m- no. No, Harry did not want to go down that path at all, because that path would lead to trouble. He wanted to be friends with Tom, that was all. Just friends.

* * *

It later occurred to Harry to wonder why Tom had been lurking behind him. Why choose to approach him then? It wasn't as if that was the only time Harry had visibly been depressed in the past two days. And he had been alone loads of times. Why that particular moment?  
  
At dinner, Harry checked if Tom was at the Slytherin table just in case, and frowned in alarm when he found that Tom wasn't. He wasn't going to stay away, was he? Hadn't that lunchtime encounter been him stopping this reclusion?  
  
The next day, Tom still wasn't anywhere to be seen, and Harry knew because he got up ridiculously early to make sure he didn't miss Tom coming into the Hall. He probably would have kept moping until Tom next appeared, but at the table, over breakfast, Hermione slammed her hands down on the table and said, "Harry, you need to stop moping. No force on heaven or earth could make that boy stop sulking before he wanted to. Wait for him to come back, because I promise you he will."  
"Yeah, but- but he came back yesterday lunch and talked to me. And he was there for the lesson after lunch. Though I don't think he was there for the lessons after that. And I thought he had stopped sulking!"  
"He probably wanted to check you were still a pushover and would let him take as long as he wanted to stress you out. If he comes back again, demand an answer from him, show him that he needs to put in effort too, and then he'll stay."  
Outwardly Harry nodded. But inwardly he worried that if he tried that, Tom would just decide it wasn't worth being friends with him and would stay away.  
  
Hermione seemed to be able to tell what he was thinking, and raised an eyebrow.  
"You're practically the only person in this school whose opinion he cares about. He won't ghost you because you show spine."  
"Actually, he cares about Dumbledore's opinion. I think he might be scared of Dumbledore."  
"That's beside the point, Harry! You won't be able to make that boy come out of hiding unless he wants to, so stop worrying about it until he next appears and then give him a piece of your mind. But first forget him."  
"But what if he's not hiding? What if someone's hurt him? What if he's been kidnapped?!" Harry panicked.  
Hermione crossed her arms. "He's Tom Riddle, and he has Nagini. He'll be fine. You'll see."  
Harry relaxed. "Oh yeah, I forgot about Nagini. Yeah, he'll be fine."  
Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath. Harry scowled.  
  
They finished breakfast and left the Hall, but Harry couldn't resist one final glance back. Tom was still nowhere to be seen.

* * *

The first half of the day went by quickly, as Harry realised that not moping was more fun than moping. But by the second half of the day, he could no longer forget the absence of Tom, and though he tried, his mood dipped a bit.  
  
During the last lesson of the day, Herbology, Harry was summoned to Dumbledore's office. His worries for Tom came pushing further to the front of his mind; had something happened to him, had he done something, etc. But one glance at the look on Dumbledore's face told him why he was there. Grindelwald.  
  
"Harry, we have received definitive news that- *cough, cough* er, well, you know, _he _will attack the school in a week. He has spies, you know, no matter our efforts, (he's so talented), and he thinks, for some reason, that he should attack now. We will be putting up more defense measures, obviously, and we know that you wish to stay informed on Gel- Grin- you, er, you know, so of course you will be informing Tom so he has Nagini at the ready. And you might want to brush up on your Charms, because if it hadn't been for that rather nifty wind spell I think he could have defeated us last time. Because he's so talented. I mean, er, that's not a good thing. Anyway, run along. Just be on your guard, and inform your friends. Especially Riddle."  
  
Harry blinked at the stuttered monologue. Then what Dumbledore had said sunk in. _Nagini. _And Tom. Who was currently avoiding him. 

Dumbledore noticed his sudden look of panic, and raised an eyebrow. "If there is anyone who you may be feeling slightly distant from lately, especially if their friendships bring certain... advantages, I advise you to repair the relationships. Fast."  
  
As Harry was walking along, he felt his insides twist in fury at the insinuation that Dumbledore thought he chose his friends based on how useful they were. He spent time with Tom because he genuinely liked him! Because he enjoyed Tom's company, and considered him a nice person to be around (though not a nice person in general). He liked Tom for who Tom was, not because of Nagini, or Tom's skill at magic.  
  
Although, to be fair, it would be quite useful to have Tom at his side. If only because Harry tended to panic when faced with hot men, (looking at you, Cedric Diggory), and tended to need other, more cool-headed people to function as the brain of the two. Of course, Hermione would be just as logical, but Tom was... less impatient? Or he was impatient, but in a nicer way. Or a funnier way. However he did it, being attacked by good looking power hungry bigots was always nicer with Tom by his side.  
  
At dinner, he checked whether Tom was there, as per usual, and nearly choked on his lasagne when he saw Tom at the Slytherin table, sitting slightly away from the others as usual. Harry actually nearly went over to check if he was ok and just talk to him and see him, but Ron gave him a weird look when he started to stand up, so he realised what he was doing and sat down again.  
  
He was practically vibrating with anticipation all through dinner, and when the meal finished, he raced over to the Slytherin table to catch Tom before he left. He just managed to reach Tom as the Slytherin was walking out of the hall, and grabbed his sleeve. Someone muttered "those two again" and everyone cleared a space around them, though they were in the doorway. Harry dragged Tom with him to an empty corridor and rounded on Tom.  
"Where the hell have you been? Why would you come up to me and then just leave again, as if that's alright, as if you can just come and go as you please. As if I wouldn't be worried sick. I didn't have a clue where you were!"  
Tom sighed. "Look, where I go is my business-"  
"Yes. Yes, it is your business, but it is also my business."  
Tom started to look pissed. "How is it your business?"  
Harry stuttered. "Because- because you're my friend, and I was worried about you, and I need to make sure you're alright. So."  
Tom got an unpleasant expression on his face, of bitter understanding, and stood up. "So you're just in it for Nagini."  
"What?" Harry gaped, genuinely astounded. Then he started to realise. But- "Tom, how did you hear the conversation in Dumbledore's office? You can listen in on Dumbledore? And you didn't tell me?"  
Tom rolled his eyes. "Not everything is about you, Harry. I don't have to tell you anything I don't want to."  
"No, but- who else are you going to tell? You don't have any other friends."  
Tom had never minded that fact before, in fact he had seemed to enjoy it, but now he scowled. "How would you know? You haven't seen me in ages."  
Harry just stared at him in incredulous hurt. "You disappeared-"  
"And did you bother to look for me?" Tom's voice rose.  
"_Yes!" _Harry howled back.  
Tom rolled his eyes again. "Maybe I disappeared because I didn't want to talk to you any more. You're so self obsessed."  
Harry was reeling. He had spent many lunch times worrying about whether or not he was too conceited and self absorbed to Tom, and of all the insults Tom had thrown at him so far, this hurt the most.  
  
He took a step back. "Fine. Fine, maybe I don't want to talk to you anymore either. I don't need you anyway."  
He stomped off, missing the hurt look that flashed across Tom's face.

* * *

Harry went to bed livid, and couldn't fall asleep until long past midnight.

* * *

The next morning, even Ron noticed something was up. Tom was down having breakfast as usual, but didn't even look up when Harry walked in. In return, Harry pointedly never looked over at the Slytherin table, for the first time in days. Hermione and Ron exchanged glances and sighed.  
  
"I take it your talk with Tom didn't go well?" Hermione asked tentatively. Harry glowered at her witheringly, and she leaned back with her hands up. "I was just asking." Harry sighed pettishly. "Well, it was a stupid question. No, my talk did not go well, no, your advice did not work at all, end of story." He put his head on the table. Hermione and Ron looked at each other again.  
"Mate, why don't you try talking to him today? He might have calmed down a bit by now." Ron tried.  
"I don't want to talk to him, Ron. He's a terrible friend- we weren't even friends- and he's so infuriating, he expects everything to revolve around him, and then he has the _audacity..." _Harry started muttering moodily to himself, and his friends sighed and gave up.  
  
After breakfast, they went to lessons. First they had Transfiguration. Tom was in it, and he and Harry spent the whole lesson glaring pointedly away from each other. McGonagall noticed this, and at the end of the lesson, she pulled Harry aside and frowned at him.  
"You are aware of the assets a friendship with Mr Riddle brings, Mr Potter? I am not particularly fond of the boy, but he has saved your life before, and with the critical situation we are in-"  
"I see him as more than an asset!" Harry said a little too loudly, and the pupils still leaving the classroom turned around.  
McGonagall raised an eyebrow at him. "Kindly refrain from shouting, Mr Potter." Harry grumbled a bit, but stepped back and lowered his voice. "We have fallen out, because he's being an _ass, _and I'm not going to go crawling back just because you think I need his help. I can take care of myself independently, you know."  
McGonagall raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing.  
  
Harry went along to Defense Against The Dark Arts in a bad mood, glowering at those around him, but softened a little when Remus gave him a concerned look. After the lesson, they had a small break, and Harry spent that break complaining to Remus about Tom.  
"He's just so- ugh. And I'm not used to not being able to talk to him, so sometimes I look around to tell him something but he's not there so I have to tell Ron, but Ron won't find it funny for the same reasons, and I'm not friends with him because he's powerful, I'm friends with him because I enjoy his company, and then he said I was self absorbed and he knows how insecure I am about that and-"  
"Harry," Remus interrupted. Then he frowned. "Tom called you self absorbed? You're not self absorbed, he was just lashing out." Harry looked doubtful, but Remus squeezed his shoulder and gave his <strike>Sirius </strike> SeriousLook. "Harry, you're not. Also, I bet he was only angry because he thought you didn't appreciate him for the right reasons. After all, if he did hear your conversation with Dumbledore, it would be a fair thing to think."  
"But we've been friends for years!" Harry protested. "And he just immediately jumps to conclusions, believing a senile old wizard he doesn't even trust over his closest- I don't even know what we are."  
"You're friends, Harry," Remus said gently but firmly. He hesitated as if about to say something more, but stopped himself.  
Harry laughed bitterly. "Tom doesn't have friends." Remus raised his eyebrow. "Tom is a teenage boy with (limited) emotions. He cares about you."  
Harry sighed, rubbing his neck. "I hope so. I'm just not sure."

* * *

Two days passed without any communication between the boys. Harry, lying by the edge of the lake, thought back to his first day at Hogwarts as he idly fiddled with the grass. There had been Ron, straight away, and he had thought Hermione was an awful, bossy girl (accurate, to be fair), and Tom hadn't been in the picture yet. He had seen Dumbledore stand, this amazing, omniscient man, and he had listened to Dumbledore's speech with a sense that this was where he belonged. In a place where werewolves walked, and ghosts wreaked havoc, and corridors decided for themselves whether they wanted to be accessible or not. Harry had thought Dumbledore was wonderful.  
  
And now Dumbledore couldn't say a sentence without faltering, Peeves had gone into hiding, and werewolves turned out to be very gay and in love with one's godfather. That last one wasn't a disappointment, it just meant that said werewolves could occasionally be extremely unhelpful. Tom had been the only good thing that had been an improvement on first year, the only person Harry hadn't met straight away and yet had remained dependable. It seemed Harry's luck was predictable; it really enjoyed screwing him over when he least expected it. Dumbledore defeated? Peeves scared? Tom an enemy?  
  
It was at this point that Harry remembered the multiple occasions Hermione had told him he was an over dramatic twat with an imagination on steroids. Tom wasn't an enemy. Dumbledore was a gay disaster, but he wasn't defeated. And Peeves had gone into hiding because he considered Grindelwald a hideous bore, not because he was scared. How Peeves had even found out about Grindelwald's looming attack Harry didn't know, but it seemed Dumbledore's office wasn't as secure as Harry had thought.  
  
Four days (roughly) before Grindelwald's attack. Dumbledore would find an excuse to leave for a while, but McGonagall, while no match for Grindelwald, was a force to be reckoned with, and she wasn't running anywhere. Harry himself was not exactly weak. They would be fine.  
  
Hopefully.

* * *

**[Bonus content because the chapter was so late]**

_The day before_

Ginny was perfectly aware that the Forbidden Forest was forbidden for a reason, and that going near it at night was especially foolhardy. But her brothers had been fine, as had Harry, and besides, she wasn't actually going in.  
  
The multiple rustling sounds around her made her jump with a mixture of anticipation and fear. She was unable to tell whether it was Draco, some malevolent creature come to kill her, her brother, or something else, and so she forced herself to get a grip. No use worrying now. Still, Draco was late by now, and Draco was never late.  
  
The rustling sounds were growing louder, and Ginny drew her wand, aware that if it was Draco, he would have lit his wand. She planted herself in a steady position, ready to run if necessary.  
  
A figure stepped out of the shadows and she couldn't hold back a small scream. The figure held up his hands, and at the back of her mind, Ginny wondered how the figure was managing to give off a scornful air, despite the fact she couldn't even make it out properly. Then the figure threw back his hood and lit his wand, giving a her an unimpressed look. "I thought you would be harder to scare than that."  
  
Ginny wasn't sure whether she should be glad or scared that the figure was Tom. She decided to go for annoyed. "Could you not sneak up on me like that? It's the Forbidden Forest, what did you think my reaction would be."  
Tom rolled his eyes. "If you're so scared, why come here? Anyway, to business. Your boyfriend couldn't make it because he's in the infirmary, so he sent me instead. I don't particularly care about you, Draco, or your relationship, but I decided to come because I have a favour to ask. Listening?"  
Ginny frowned. "Draco's in the infirmary? Why is he alright? What happened? Did he-"  
Tom's hiss of impatience cut through her anxious babble. "Draco is fine, it was barely a scratch. Anyway, the favour."  
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "What can _I _do for _you?_"  
Tom sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This stays between us, alright?"  
Ginny nodded, but suddenly a terrifyingly fierce look came over Tom's face.  
"_I mean it. _Repeat one word of this to anyone and you're dead. _Dead._"

Ginny nodded again, shaken. Tom fidgeted slightly, an abrupt, bizarre change from his mood just a moment ago, and said extremely quickly,  
"You're friends with Harry, right?"  
Ginny nodded for a third time, this time slowly and cautiously.  
"Will you stop nodding!" Tom snapped at her, and she nearly nodded again, but caught herself just in time and said "yes, sorry," instead. Tom rolled his eyes.  
"I would go to one of the sidekicks about this, but I don't trust them not to go running to Harry. The thing is..." he looked uncomfortable again. "You know Grindelwald could be on his way, right? I made sure the news got around the school."  
"What exactly do you want me to do?" Ginny interjected, slightly frustrated. But only slightly, because Tom gave her the evil eye.  
"I need you to..." he sighed. "Watch Harry. He could be in danger, alright? And we've- we've had a bit of an argument, so I can't be near him. I'm worried about him, he's so reckless. Just- watch out for him for me, yeah? Tell me if you think he's in immediate trouble."  
Ginny blinked. "You could have just said that."  
Tom gave her another evil look, and she put her hands up. "Woah, calm down, stop glaring at me like that. I literally just came out here to have an illicit, romance-novel style meeting with my forbidden boyfriend, I did not expect to be attacked like this."  
Tom groaned. "Whatever. Just look out for Harry. I can't believe I resorted to this."  
He walked off into the Forest, leaving Ginny highly confused, a bit scared, and very worried.  
  
Watch Harry? Harry would not be pleased. Ginny wasn't supposed to tell anyone, and she didn't plan on deliberately letting anything slip, but someone would probably notice if she suddenly far more time with them. But did she really need to? Harry was a very good wizard, a grown adult (sort of) and... and a moronic risk taker. Yeah, if Grindelwald was on the way, he did sort of need to be watched.  
  
Still, Harry adored Tom, and vice versa. No argument between them could be bad enough that they would stop talking, right? "I can't be near him"- what rubbish was this? _Boys, _Ginny thought to herself, and, shaking her head, she made her way back to the school, hoping McGonagall wouldn't be on the prowl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry for the long delay. Both Sirius and Grindelwald will be appearing in the next chapter, and we will see more of the Quidditch team too. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, kudos and comments much appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments much appreciated! I hope you enjoyed. Updates will be very sporadic sorry.


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